New Cole Porter Discs

Not one, but two 2004 CDs-one already released, one due June 15-celebrate the music of Great American Songbook composer Cole Porter (pictured).

The first disc, The Porter Project (Kriztal) came out late last month and features a 16-song set of Porter tunes like “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris” and “Miss Otis Regrets” done up in a modern, chill-out style. Album producer Billy Paul Williams enlisted a number of vocalists including Charlotte McKinnon and Lauren Carter to deliver Porter’s smart lyrics over lush, downtempo electronic and nu jazz grooves. Here’s the track list:

1. In the Still of the Night – 0:49

2. Night and Day – 5:07

3. Easy to Love – 6:33

4. Love for Sale – 5:28

5. Miss Otis Regrets – 5:38

6. I Love Paris – 5:08

7. How Could We Be Wrong – 5:38

8. Gigolo – 5:42

9. I’ve Got You Under My Skin – 5:33

10. Begin the Beguine – 5:18

11. Why Can’t You Behave – 5:27

12. Be a Clown – 4:21

13. You Do Something to Me – 4:53

14. Blow, Gabriel Blow – 5:44

15. At Long Last Love – 5:15

16. In the Still of the Night (Reprise) – 2:11

The second and much more traditional Porter disc is Cocktails With Cole Porter, which is a compilation in EMI’s Ultra-Lounge series. It’ll be out June 15 and will appeal to fans of classic jazz vocal stylings, with tunes sung by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole and Sarah Vaughan among its 20 tracks. For the boozehounds, the Cocktails package will include drink recipes, as well as Cole Porter trivia questions that will be fun to attempt answering after you’ve put the recipes to use and are ridin’ high. The disc is set to coincide with the July 2 release of the MGM Porter biopic De-Lovely, which stars Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. July 2?! And the disc comes out June 15? I suspect the folks at EMI have been using those recipes, too. Here’s the track list:

1. Nat King Cole – Just One of Those Things

2. Ella Fitzgerald – It’s De-Lovely

3. Dean Martin – True Love

4. Tony Bennett/Count Basie – Anything Goes

5. Sammy Davis Jr. – Easy to Love

6. Kay Starr – C’est Magnifique

7. Steve Lawrence – Night and Day

8. Julie London – My Heart Belongs to Daddy

9. Peggy Lee – Ridin’ High

10. Louis Armstrong – High Society Calypso

11. Keely Smith – What Is This Thing Called Love

12. Kay Starr – I Love Paris

13. Nancy Wilson – You’d Be so Nice to Come Home To

14. Judy Garland – I Happen to Like New York

15. Louis Prima/Keely Smith – I’ve Got You Under My Skin

16. Liza Minnelli – Looking at You

17. Peggy Lee/George Shearing – Always True to You In My Fashion

18. Duke Ellington/Ella Fitzgerald – Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)

19. Nat King Cole – Miss Otis Regrets

20. Sarah Vaughan – Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye

Originally Published April 20, 2004